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Attendance
Attendance Matters
Prioritising your child's daily, on-time attendance is crucial for their academic success and engagement. Consistent attendance in lessons means that your child is much more likely to grasp new concepts and less likely to miss out on crucial chunks of learning.
Even brief lateness disrupts learning, and over time, missed minutes add up to significant lost learning time – potentially entire lessons or days over the school year, creating large gaps in understanding. By fostering a routine that values punctuality, you equip your child with essential life skills and maximise their educational opportunities. Please reach out if you face challenges; we're committed to supporting your child's consistent attendance and overall progress.
The graphics below show the impact of poor attendance and punctuality;
LATENESS EXPLAINED
Every ½ day absence from school, by law, has to be classified as either authorised or unauthorised. This is why information about the cause of absence is always asked for.
Authorised absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a good reason such as illness, medical appointments and emergencies.
An absence is classified as Unauthorised, if the reason was not recognised as acceptable. The Department for Education (DfE) and Local Education Authorities provide information for schools as what is acceptable and what is not.
Examples of reasons that would not be accepted:
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A birthday
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A shopping trip
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Day trips
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Holidays – unless have been agreed as exceptional circumstances
Contact the school office, as early as possible, on the first morning (and each subsequent morning) notifying us of the absence and provide a reason.
It is very important that all children arrive on time. If your child arrives late, they will not be able to come into school via the usual morning entrance doors but should instead come through the main school entrance. We will then be able to mark registers and ensure your child is marked for a school dinner.
Please note that if your children arrives at school later than 9:00am, we are required to mark them as absent for that half-day session.
If children are regularly late, a parent will be expected to attend a meeting to look at how punctuality can be improved
We believe that working together with parents is the best way to result in positive attendance outcomes for our children.
Certificates are given termly in recognition of good attendance.
Our Attendance Lead (Mr Strong) and Wellbeing Lead (Nicki Graham) are happy to work with both children and families to improve attendance and punctuality. Come and talk to us if you are having problems.
As attendance and punctuality is so important to us, we cannot be complacent where there are instances of unacceptable, low pupil attendance, or if pupils are regularly late to school.
We will adopt measures and involve external agencies if the level of attendance requires us to do so. We regularly monitor attendance and each term letters are sent to ALL parents where attendance is below 90%.
Parents may receive a penalty notice if their child is absent from school without permission.
From September 2013, the cost of these notices will be £60 per child per parent if paid within 21 days, and £120 if paid between 22 and 28 days.
We appreciate the challenges that some parents face when booking holidays, particularly during the school holidays. However, regular attendance at school is vital in helping children and young people to achieve their full potential and get the best possible start in life.